Exploring the Nature of God | Connecting to the Divine Cosmos August 27th

“We are travelers on a cosmic journey,stardust,swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share.”

Paulo Coelho The Alchemist

Overview

Welcome to our FIRST CLASS of Summer Confirmation Prep..we at STME are so happy to have you teach our young generation of the Church, and I am confident that our lesson today will help teens realize the importance of faith as a compass of navigating life’s journey, all the while enshrouding our teens with the sheer magnitude and mystery that is God...to attract our teens to the awestruck mystery that is God and the divine cosmos, yet tethering them to our human reality and helping them discover the divine reality in a tangible way: Prayer and the Mass.

I would like for the first half hour (or hour of class, if you so choose) to take the opportunity to introduce yourself to your small group. While I myself am an eager beaver and would like to take advantage of diving deep into learning the lessons with what precious little time is allocated to us, ministering to these teens takes baby steps. Alas, Christ himself got to intimately know his follower’s souls, needs, and desires. I ask of you, during this time, to ask each student to share about themselves and take time with their responses...make sure to respond back and affirm. You are more than welcome to use their surveys as talking points, and going out on tangents if students open up a can of worms in conversation.

The second portion of class, we will have the duty of helping students articulate God (no easy task) and the importance of asking questions, being curious, and not being afraid of doing research (Bible, Mass, talking to priests, etc.) In addition, you will be asked to segway “Who is God” to having students make the connection that discovering who God is comes from prayer: A tangible resource that hints at God’s tangible closeness to each and every one of us.

Goals 1. Teach students the nature of God, which requires an introduction to philosophical thinking. Emphasize the themes of “wonder”, “awe”, “immensity”...the overarching definition of God is “love.” 2. Help students understand that prayer is our connecting point to God, and that prayer occurs in a variety of methods. Help students ponder over how they would like to pray, and what methods may be effective for them. 3. Begin to introduce to your teens the importance of Mass and reading the Bible (The themes for our next class). Such supplemental discussions can expand on the variety of ways one may reach God...God is always accessible when one is willing to be vulnerable enough to hear God’s voice.

Resources 1. How Evolutionary Science Reveals God’s Character (Article)

https://biologos.org/resources/how-evolutionary-science-reveals-gods-character/

2. Bishop Don Hying “Does God Really Exist?”

http://www.archmil.org/c4video/C4-02.htm

3. The Veil Removed - Film

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOLZDaTgIaM

4. Father Mike Schmitz - Why We Don’t Drink Coffee at Mass

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT-B2fK_EB0

The Nature of God

The nature of God is quite vast and due to our human nature, can be expressed in a multitude of ways. The earliest humans during the Paleolithic Era used cave paintings, paintings that depicted animals, daily life, and handprints to make sense of their human reality and what may lay beyond. To think that the first of mankind has the capacity to not only survive, but maintain a consciousness and wonder, is scientifically spectacular. The keyword I would like to stress is “wonder”, in which God is the ultimate Wonder of the World. There are many things in our human reality that we consider “wonderful” such as the birth of a child, gazing at the stars, and the rewards of a hard night’s study session.

One might ask…

“Where is the connection between God and what we consider wonderful? Can’t wonderful things happen without God’s presence?”

The ligaments that hold the flesh between God and what we perceive as wonderful is LOVE and the energy of creation. God’s presence in love is spurred on by creation and the evidence is the progress of mankind to become his/her authentic self. God created man to serve as agents of love, and when we stray from that authentic self, chaos ensues (as our modern world so vividly portrays). In other words, we are co-creators of God’s love, and thus are part of God’s self.

Think about it: The fact that early man traced their own hands on cave walls among the canvas of iconological art signifies that man considered himself to be a part of the spiritual “otherness” that mystified them. Thus, the nature of God is the following:

● God is all life that is created and adored by authentic admiration, wonder, and LOVE.

So I’ve gone through a bunch of philosophical jargon, and thus I want to convey it in a way for these teens to understand the magnitude, intensity, and mystery that surrounds God. ● Early man and the paintings he created are indicative of our capacity to reflect on our selves.

Ask students: Have they ever looked at the clear, night sky and wonder “Where DID this all come from? What else is out there? Who am I?

● As human beings, we are special on earth. The other day, I listened to a podcast Sunday Special, and they were discussing the recent story of Navy surveillance capturing pictures of UFOs. One of the guests on the show simply asked “Why do we have to believe some other life is out there? Perhaps we should consider that WE are special, and hold dignity in being unique creations of God’s universe.”

Tell the kids that they INDEED ARE SPECIAL BECAUSE GOD RESTS IN THEIR BEING.

● With teens’ daily lives being so chaotic and busy, when do they spend time reflecting? ○ Ask them to think about the last time they reflected on the hard questions. I like to call these “shower thoughts.” ● I think we all understand too well the mundane schedule of life that creeps up from time to time: Get up, expend energy for work/studies, take care of business, sleep and repeat. We seem to lose a sense of dignity and purpose with just that...so we NEED to dive deeper as humans we have this innate ability to inject meaning into our lives.

Socrates is a fine example of a man that took seriously the case of what it means to be human and practiced the act of reflecting. Consider the following:

Socrates said “The unexamined life is not worth living” (Socrates lived 400 BC – wasn’t Christian but was enthralled by religious ideologies of his time.)

1) What do you think Socrates meant by this?

2) Do you agree, disagree, a little of each? Why?

3) Throughout history, human beings have wrestled with the deepest questions of life. What are some of the deep questions that, over time, humans never seem to stop asking? 4) Have you had experiences in your life that caused you to think about these deep questions? If so, what were they? (death in the family, natural disaster, birth of a brother or sister, a netflix documentary, etc.)

As Catholics we believe that the answers to many of these questions can be found in a relationship with God. But in order to understand God’s answers, we first need to believe that God exists, understand the nature of God and then develop a relationship with Him. Today, we’re going to talk about how we can know that God exists. Many teens who are preparing for their Confirmation already believe that God exists. Some don’t. We think it’s important to talk about it for a couple of reasons:

● If you don’t believe that God exists, we want you to consider the possibility that He does exist and learn some of the ways you might be able to discover that He’s real.

● If you already believe in God, chances are that you know (or will know) some people who don’t believe that He exists. In case anyone were to try to convince us that He doesn’t exist, we want to have thought about how we would explain why we believe He’s real. ASK:

1) So let me ask you, what reasons do people give for their belief in God? (Depending on your group and your comfort level, you may just ask straight up: “Do you believe in God, why or why not?” rather than using these two separate questions)

2) What reasons do people give who don’t believe in God?

3) Which do you think are the strongest or most compelling? (Or depending on your group, you might ask them what they would share with someone who asked them why they believe that God is real)

4) Which are the weakest? Their answers may fall into some of the categories from One on One: Exploring the God Question (See photocopied handout for help).

● If you’re comfortable, please share your personal story or reasons why you believe that He is real and really loves you. ● If appropriate to your discussion, encourage them to share their personal reason for believing that God is real. ● If you think the discussion needs to go further, you can use the reasons in the handout. (but do not feel like you have to use this! Feel free to move on!)

Note: Atheism itself is a religion! Atheism is the BELIEF that a God doesn’t exist...no human can escape our innate desire to inject meaning into the universe. Atheism cannot disprove the existence of God as our definition of God may be subjective, but the Catholic Bible defines God as “I am who am”, and in the legacy of Jesus Christ, God is defined as love. Not only is God proved in the evidence of love, but also scientifically. Check out the link below on a global, prize-winning physicist who states that the expanding of the universe has credibly in dignifying the existence of God. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/atheism-is-inconsistent-with-the-scientific-meth od-prizewinning-physicist-says/

● After reflection on the existence of God, ask the students the following: ○ What do we know of Who God is? How would you describe God? ○ What does that mean for us? (We are created with dignity and love. We were not created to be alone.) ○ We are called to great purpose- to be Saints and reunited with God in perfect union in Heaven). ○ Why can it feel like God is a God far away and not an intimate God? (because we are not in relationship with Him!) ○ How are we supposed to be in a relationship with God? (Prayer. It’s a game changer.)

Prayer: How We Come to Know God

The Lutherans have a saying called “The thin place”, which stands for a moment or location in which the human reality nestled up against the divine reality. Of course, as Catholics, the thin place has already been discovered and proved through the story of Jesus Christ as true God and true man. The theme of connecting both realities is riddled throughout the Gospels, and is symbolized in Christ’s crucifixion: Christ’s bone and sinew being held taut as He was stretched on the cross gives meaning to Christ’s desire to pull the connection between divine and human realities together.

● We humans are so reliant on our senses to make sense of the world. We often think God is far away, but we immediately dip our toes in the divine pool when we pray and participate in Mass. These two things spark a relationship with God.

PRAYER 101 What is your best friend like? What makes your friendship a good friendship? Hopefully things like the following will come up in the discussion: ● Caring/Accepting ● Spend quality time with you ● Listening – not just talking all of the time ● Forgiving ● Makes you laugh/have fun together ● With you through good times and bad, etc.

1) Summarizing, what stands out to you from our discussion so far? What are the key elements of a good friendship? 2) Have you ever considered God to be a friend? Why or why not? What makes it hard to think of God as a friend? (Some challenges include: o We may think of Him as distant, inaccessible, or too transcendent in His divinity. o We may be afraid of what getting close to Him might mean for our lives) 3) Compare the key elements of a good friendship to your relationship with God. On a scale of 1-10, how would you assess your “friendship” with God, 1 being “don’t even know Him” and 10 being “best friends”? Explain.)

Explain: No matter where you are with God, He calls us into a closer relationship, even a friendship with Him. Consider sharing a personal experience you have had of Christ as a friend.

4) What are these friendships and relationships dependent on? COMMUNICATION Relationships do not exist without a form of communication… and the better the connection the better the relationship. In a relationship with God. Prayer is IMPORTANT! It connects us with God. The Church knowing this to be true in our Faith as well- means of communication with God? Prayer- so important that a quarter of the Catechism is dedicated to Prayer. 5) What forms of prayer do you know, are you familiar with? (create a list!) When in prayer have you felt truly connected to God? When have you felt – nothing?

Jesus Prayed Too!! Mark 1:35 Matthew 14:23 Luke 5:16 Luke 9:28 (and lots of others)

Know It: Over and Over we read about Jesus going off to quiet places to pray. . Think About It: If Jesus needed time to reflect and pray. How much more do you and I need it?

● Many books of the Bible revolve around the author trying to make sense of himself, God, and the universe. A prime example is the Book of Ecclesiastes, in which the author talks about why there is suffering, and legitimately ponders over the content of what we today call “YOLO!”, and struggles with doubting in God’s presence...very relevant and applicable concerns indeed! The author of Ecclesiastes aims to make sense of the connection between the human and divine realms.

Pray It Now- 15 minutes

Take 10 minutes to pray together with The Examen. If you want a different tool, download Reimagining the Examen – and that has some GREAT options for the examen reflection.

1. Gratitude: Begin by thanking God in a personal dialogue for whatever you are most grateful for today. 2. Awareness: Revisit the times in the past twenty-four hours when you were and were not the-best-version-of-your-self. Talk to God about these situations and what you learned from them. 3. Significant Moments: Identify something you experienced in the last twenty-four hours and explore what God might be trying to say to you through that event (or person). 4. Peace: Ask God to forgive you for any wrong you have committed (against yourself, another person, or Him) and to fill you with a deep and abiding peace. 5. Freedom: Speak with God about how He is inviting you to change your life, so that you can experience the freedom to be the-best-version-of-yourself. 6. Others: Lift up to God anyone you feel called to pray for today, asking God to bless and guide them. 7. Pray the Our Father. 6/14/2021 Atheism Is Inconsistent with the Scientific Method, Prizewinning Physicist Says - Scientific American

P H Y S I C S Atheism Is Inconsistent with the Scientifc Method, Prizewinning Physicist Says In conversation, the 2019 Templeton Prize winner does not pull punches on the limits of science, the value of humility and the irrationality of nonbelief

By Lee Billings on March 20, 2019

Theoretical physicist Marcelo Gleiser, recipient of the 2019 Templeton Prize. Credit: Eli Burakian Dartmouth College

Marcelo Gleiser, a 60-year-old Brazil-born theoretical physicist at Dartmouth College and prolific science popularizer, has won this year’s Templeton Prize. Valued at just under $1.5 million, the award from the John Templeton Foundation annually recognizes an individual “who has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life’s spiritual dimension.” Its past recipients include scientific luminaries such as Sir Martin Rees and Freeman Dyson, as well as religious or political leaders such as Mother Teresa, Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama.

Across his 35-year scientific career, Gleiser’s research has covered a wide breadth of topics, ranging from the properties of the early universe to the behavior of fundamental

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/atheism-is-inconsistent-with-the-scientific-method-prizewinning-physicist-says/?print=true 1/8 6/14/2021 Atheism Is Inconsistent with the Scientific Method, Prizewinning Physicist Says - Scientific American

particles and the origins of life. But in awarding him its most prestigious honor, the Templeton Foundation chiefly cited his status as a leading public intellectual revealing “the historical, philosophical and cultural links between science, the humanities and spirituality.” He is also the first Latin American to receive the prize.

Scientific American spoke with Gleiser about the award, how he plans to advance his message of consilience, the need for humility in science, why humans are special, and the fundamental source of his curiosity as a physicist.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

[An edited transcript of the interview follows.]

Scientific American: First off, congratulations! How did you feel when you heard the news?

Marcelo Gleiser: It was quite a shocker. I feel tremendously honored, very humbled and kind of nervous. It’s a cocktail of emotions, to be honest. I put a lot of weight on the fact that I’m the first Latin American to get this. That, to me anyway, is important—and I’m feeling the weight on my shoulders now. I have my message, you know. The question now is how to get it across as efficiently and clearly as I can, now that I have a much bigger platform to do that from.

You’ve written and spoken eloquently about nature of reality and consciousness, the genesis of life, the possibility of life beyond Earth, the origin and fate of the universe, and more. How do all those disparate topics synergize into one, cohesive message for you?

To me, science is one way of connecting with the mystery of existence. And if you think of it that way, the mystery of existence is something that we have wondered about ever since people began asking questions about who we are and where we come from. So while those questions are now part of scientific research, they are much, much older than science. I’m not talking about the science of materials, or high-temperature

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/atheism-is-inconsistent-with-the-scientific-method-prizewinning-physicist-says/?print=true 2/8 6/14/2021 Atheism Is Inconsistent with the Scientific Method, Prizewinning Physicist Says - Scientific American

superconductivity, which is awesome and super important, but that’s not the kind of science I’m doing. I’m talking about science as part of a much grander and older sort of questioning about who we are in the big picture of the universe. To me, as a theoretical physicist and also someone who spends time out in the mountains, this sort of questioning offers a deeply spiritual connection with the world, through my mind and through my body. Einstein would have said the same thing, I think, with his cosmic religious feeling.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Right. So which aspect of your work do you think is most relevant to the Templeton Foundation’s spiritual aims?

Probably my belief in humility. I believe we should take a much humbler approach to knowledge, in the sense that if you look carefully at the way science works, you’ll see that yes, it is wonderful — magnificent! — but it has limits. And we have to understand and respect those limits. And by doing that, by understanding how science advances, science really becomes a deeply spiritual conversation with the mysterious, about all the things we don’t know. So that’s one answer to your question. And that has nothing to do with organized religion, obviously, but it does inform my position against atheism. I consider myself an agnostic.

Why are you against atheism?

Sign up for Scientifc American’s free newsletters. Sign Up

I honestly think atheism is inconsistent with the scientific method. What I mean by that is, what is atheism? It’s a statement, a categorical statement that expresses belief in nonbelief. “I don’t believe even though I have no evidence for or against, simply I don’t believe.” Period. It’s a declaration. But in science we don’t really do declarations. We say, “Okay, you can have a hypothesis, you have to have some evidence against or for that.”

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/atheism-is-inconsistent-with-the-scientific-method-prizewinning-physicist-says/?print=true 3/8 6/14/2021 Atheism Is Inconsistent with the Scientific Method, Prizewinning Physicist Says - Scientific American

And so an agnostic would say, look, I have no evidence for God or any kind of god (What god, first of all? The Maori gods, or the Jewish or Christian or Muslim God? Which god is that?) But on the other hand, an agnostic would acknowledge no right to make a final statement about something he or she doesn’t know about. “The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence,” and all that. This positions me very much against all of the “New Atheist” guys—even though I want my message to be respectful of people’s beliefs and reasoning, which might be community-based, or dignity-based, and so on. And I think obviously the Templeton Foundation likes all of this, because this is part of an emerging conversation. It’s not just me; it’s also my colleague the astrophysicist Adam Frank, and a bunch of others, talking more and more about the relation between science and spirituality.

So, a message of humility, open-mindedness and tolerance. Other than in discussions of God, where else do you see the most urgent need for this ethos?

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

You know, I’m a “Rare Earth” kind of guy. I think our situation may be rather special, on a planetary or even galactic scale. So when people talk about Copernicus and Copernicanism—the ‘principle of mediocrity’ that states we should expect to be average and typical, I say, “You know what? It’s time to get beyond that.” When you look out there at the other planets (and the exoplanets that we can make some sense of), when you look at the history of life on Earth, you will realize this place called Earth is absolutely amazing. And maybe, yes, there are others out there, possibly—who knows, we certainly expect so—but right now what we know is that we have this world, and we are these amazing molecular machines capable of self-awareness, and all that makes us very special indeed. And we know for a fact that there will be no other humans in the universe; there may be some humanoids somewhere out there, but we are unique products of our single, small planet’s long history.

The point is, to understand modern science within this framework is to put humanity back into kind of a moral center of the universe, in which we have the moral duty to preserve this planet and its life with everything that we’ve got, because we understand

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/atheism-is-inconsistent-with-the-scientific-method-prizewinning-physicist-says/?print=true 4/8 6/14/2021 Atheism Is Inconsistent with the Scientific Method, Prizewinning Physicist Says - Scientific American

how rare this whole game is and that for all practical purposes we are alone. For now, anyways. We have to do this! This is a message that I hope will resonate with lots of people, because to me what we really need right now in this increasingly divisive world is a new unifying myth. I mean “myth” as a story that defines a culture. So, what is the myth that will define the culture of the 21st century? It has to be a myth of our species, not about any particular belief system or political party. How can we possibly do that? Well, we can do that using astronomy, using what we have learned from other worlds, to position ourselves and say, “Look, folks, this is not about tribal allegiance, this is about us as a species on a very specific planet that will go on with us—or without us.” I think you know this message well.

I do. But let me play devil’s advocate for a moment, only because earlier you referred to the value of humility in science. Some would say now is not the time to be humble, given the rising tide of active, open hostility to science and objectivity around the globe. How would you respond to that?

This is of course something people have already told me: “Are you really sure you want to be saying these things?” And my answer is yes, absolutely. There is a difference between “science” and what we can call “scientism,” which is the notion that science can solve all problems. To a large extent, it is not science but rather how humanity has used science that has put us in our present difficulties. Because most people, in general, have no awareness of what science can and cannot do. So they misuse it, and they do not think about science in a more pluralistic way. So, okay, you’re going to develop a self- driving car? Good! But how will that car handle hard choices, like whether to prioritize the lives of its occupants or the lives of pedestrian bystanders? Is it going to just be the technologist from Google who decides? Let us hope not! You have to talk to philosophers, you have to talk to ethicists. And to not understand that, to say that science has all the answers, to me is just nonsense. We cannot presume that we are going to solve all the problems of the world using a strict scientific approach. It will not be the case, and it hasn’t ever been the case, because the world is too complex, and science has methodological powers as well as methodological limitations.

And so, what do I say? I say be honest. There is a quote from the physicist Frank Oppenheimer that fits here: “The worst thing a son of a bitch can do is turn you into a son of a bitch.” Which is profane but brilliant. I’m not going to lie about what science

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/atheism-is-inconsistent-with-the-scientific-method-prizewinning-physicist-says/?print=true 5/8 6/14/2021 Atheism Is Inconsistent with the Scientific Method, Prizewinning Physicist Says - Scientific American

can and cannot do because politicians are misusing science and trying to politicize the scientific discourse. I’m going to be honest about the powers of science so that people can actually believe me for my honesty and transparency. If you don’t want to be honest and transparent, you’re just going to become a liar like everybody else. Which is why I get upset by misstatements, like when you have scientists—Stephen Hawking and Lawrence Krauss among them—claiming we have solved the problem of the origin of the universe, or that string theory is correct and that the final “theory of everything” is at hand. Such statements are bogus. So, I feel as if I am a guardian for the integrity of science right now; someone you can trust because this person is open and honest enough to admit that the scientific enterprise has limitations—which doesn’t mean it’s weak!

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

You mentioned string theory, and your skepticism about the notion of a final “theory of everything.” Where does that skepticism come from?

It is impossible for science to obtain a true theory of everything. And the reason for that is epistemological. Basically, the way we acquire information about the world is through measurement. It’s through instruments, right? And because of that, our measurements and instruments are always going to tell us a lot of stuff, but they are going to leave stuff out. And we cannot possibly ever think that we could have a theory of everything, because we cannot ever think that we know everything that there is to know about the universe. This relates to a metaphor I developed that I used as the title of a book, The Island of Knowledge. Knowledge advances, yes? But it’s surrounded by this ocean of the unknown. The paradox of knowledge is that as it expands and the boundary between the known and the unknown changes, you inevitably start to ask questions that you couldn’t even ask before.

I don’t want to discourage people from looking for unified explanations of nature because yes, we need that. A lot of physics is based on this drive to simplify and bring things together. But on the other hand, it is the blank statement that there could ever be a theory of everything that I think is fundamentally wrong from a philosophical perspective. This whole notion of finality and final ideas is, to me, just an attempt to

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/atheism-is-inconsistent-with-the-scientific-method-prizewinning-physicist-says/?print=true 6/8 6/14/2021 Atheism Is Inconsistent with the Scientific Method, Prizewinning Physicist Says - Scientific American

turn science into a religious system, which is something I disagree with profoundly. So then how do you go ahead and justify doing research if you don’t think you can get to the final answer? Well, because research is not about the final answer, it’s about the process of discovery. It’s what you find along the way that matters, and it is curiosity that moves the human spirit forward.

Speaking of curiosity… You once wrote, “Scientists, in a sense, are people who keep curiosity burning, trying to find answers to some of the questions they asked as children.” As a child, was there a formative question you asked, or an experience you had, that made you into the scientist you are today? Are you still trying to answer it?

I’m still completely fascinated with how much science can tell about the origin and evolution of the universe. Modern cosmology and astrobiology have most of the questions I look for—the idea of the transition from nonlife, to life, to me, is absolutely fascinating. But to be honest with you, the formative experience was that I lost my mom. I was six years old, and that loss was absolutely devastating. It put me in contact with the notion of time from a very early age. And obviously religion was the thing that came immediately, because I’m Jewish, but I became very disillusioned with the Old Testament when I was a teenager, and then I found Einstein. That was when I realized, you can actually ask questions about the nature of time and space and nature itself using science. That just blew me away. And so I think it was a very early sense of loss that made me curious about existence. And if you are curious about existence, physics becomes a wonderful portal, because it brings you close to the nature of the fundamental questions: space, time, origins. And I’ve been happy ever since.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A B O U T T H E A U T H O R ( S ) Lee Billings is a senior editor for space and physics at Scientifc American.

Follow Lee Billings on Twitter

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/atheism-is-inconsistent-with-the-scientific-method-prizewinning-physicist-says/?print=true 7/8 6/14/2021 Atheism Is Inconsistent with the Scientific Method, Prizewinning Physicist Says - Scientific American

Credit: Nick Higgins

Scientifc American is part of Springer Nature, which owns or has commercial relations with thousands of scientifc publications (many of them can be found at www.springernature.com/us). Scientifc American maintains a strict policy of editorial independence in reporting developments in science to our readers.

© 2021 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, A DIVISION OF SPRINGER NATURE AMERICA, INC.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/atheism-is-inconsistent-with-the-scientific-method-prizewinning-physicist-says/?print=true 8/8 6/14/2021 How Evolutionary Science Reveals God's Character with Kathryn Applegate - Resources - BioLogos

https://biologos.org/resources/how-evolutionary-science-reveals-gods-character/

Video How Evolutionary Science Reveals God's Character with Kathryn Applegate

Featuring Kathryn Applegate on January 16, 2010

Evolution Genesis & Creation Miracles & Divine Action Science as Christian Calling

Video Transcription

I think a lot of people are uncomfortable with uncertainty and, as a scientist, you get pretty used to the idea of levels of uncertainty within scientifc data, but for many people, it’s scary not to have a black and white answer. We want so desperately to ft God in a little box of this is who he is, this is how he works, and this is who I am and here’s how I ft into this picture. And I think what science is uncovering is way more rich and has all the subtlety of a beautiful painting that is hard to encapsulate in a sound bite.

God speaks through the Bible and through all sorts of other things, too, that comport with the Bible. So for science, I think, science is another way of studying what God does and, we’re progressively having revealed to us how he has created, how he

https://biologos.org/resources/how-evolutionary-science-reveals-gods-character/ 1/2 6/14/2021 How Evolutionary Science Reveals God's Character with Kathryn Applegate - Resources - BioLogos continues to create. That it wasn’t just Godmade it at the beginning and stepped away. I think God is active and involved, and we see that in the continuous creation through the means of evolution.

So, that’s really exciting and a way to better understand who God is and the character of what he’s about. He’s infnitely creative, infnitely good, and we see that in great diversity of life on Earth. Looking at Genesis only for scientifc details is a bit like trying to look at the notes on a page of a symphony and without hearing it, you miss all the richness and glory to do so. Not that the notes aren’t important, not that the science isn’t important, but that isn’t the primary purpose of why we have those texts.

God's Word. God's World. Delivered to your inbox.

BioLogos shows the church and the world the harmony between science and biblical faith. Get resources, updates, and more.

What is BioLogos?

Sign Up

https://biologos.org/resources/how-evolutionary-science-reveals-gods-character/ 2/2 Submit your responses for approval:

1. Copy and paste the above questions, including the journal questions, into a document (Google or Word) or email body. 2. Type your responses. 3. Email these responses to Annette O’ Brien with the subject titled "Confirmation At-Home Homework. Make sure you put the following format into the Subject Line: 4. (Full Name,Month) Example: Confirmation At-Home Homework (Thaddeus Loduha, January)

Annette’s Email [email protected]

Homework Questions 1. After reflecting on the existence and nature of God, answer the following questions: a. What do we know of Who God is? How would you describe God? b. What does that mean for us? c. What is our purpose? d. Why can it feel like God is a God far away and not an intimate God? e. How are we supposed to be in a relationship with God? 2. Read the Article “Atheism Is Inconsistent with the Scientific Method, Prizewinning Physicist Says” by the journal Scientific American. Then, answer the following questions: a. What is the Templeton Prize awarded for? b. Fill in the blank: And by doing that, by understanding how science advances, science really becomes a deeply ______conversation with the mysterious, about all the things we don’t know. c. Marcelo Gleiser argues that atheism goes against science, and spirituality is much more scientific-based than atheism would ever be. Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not? d. Sum up a short, theological argument that supports the following quote from Marcelo:

“When you look out there at the other planets (and the exoplanets that we can make some sense of), when you look at the history of life on Earth, you will realize this place called Earth is absolutely amazing. And maybe, yes, there are others out there, possibly—who knows, we certainly expect so—but right now what we know is that we have this world, and we are these amazing molecular machines capable of self-awareness, and all that makes us very special indeed.”